> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.bizbuildermagazine.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Our Franchise Did $450,000 in Year One and Wasn't Profitable. - URL: https://www.bizbuildermagazine.com/our-franchise-did-450-000-in-year-one-and-wasnt-profitable/ - Published: 2026-08-26T20:20:59.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-27T15:16:00.000Z - Description: When someone tells me they want to invest in a franchise, I'm not just interested in finding a brand they think sounds exciting. I want to understand what they're actually trying to build. - Author: Diana Miller - Tags: Business Education ### Here's What I Wish More People Knew Before Buying a Franchise. Last year, my husband and I opened our first Pink’s Window Services franchise in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In our first 12 months, we did roughly **$450,000 in revenue.** And we made essentially **no profit.** Those two numbers together tell a much more interesting story than either one does alone. When people start looking at franchise ownership, it’s easy to focus on revenue. How much are other franchisees doing? What does the Item 19 in the FDD show? How quickly can I get to $500,000? $1 million? Those are important questions. But after going through our first year as franchise owners, I think there are some equally important questions prospective owners should be asking. ### Revenue Is Not the Same Thing as Profit This sounds obvious until you're actually running the business. You can build a company that is growing quickly, hiring people, buying equipment, adding vehicles, spending on marketing and generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales, while very little of that money makes its way into your pocket. That's especially true in the early stages of a business. We were building infrastructure. We were hiring and training. We were investing in marketing. We were learning what worked, and paying for some things that didn't. We were making mistakes. And we were building a team capable of handling a much bigger business than the one we had on Day 1. Looking only at our first-year profit wouldn't tell the whole story. Neither would looking only at our $450,000 in revenue. You need both. ### A Franchise Gives You a Playbook. You Still Have to Run the Business. One misconception I sometimes hear is that buying a franchise means buying a business that essentially runs itself. That has not been our experience. A good franchise can give you an enormous head start: a brand, systems, training, technology, marketing resources, vendors, other franchisees to learn from and a roadmap that someone else has already spent years developing. That's incredibly valuable. But none of it eliminates execution. We still had to hire the right people. We had to manage them. We had to sell. We had to network. We had to deal with unhappy customers, damaged equipment, scheduling problems, hiring mistakes and all the unexpected things that happen when you're building a real company. The franchise gave us a framework. We still had to build the business. ### Some of Our Best Decisions Cost Us Money First One of the biggest lessons from our first year was learning to think beyond immediate profitability. We could have tried to keep expenses extremely lean and do more of the work ourselves. Instead, we started building a team. We hired someone in sales and eventually promoted him into a General Manager role. That costs money. So does hiring technicians before every hour of their schedule is perfectly optimized. But our goal was never to create jobs for ourselves. We wanted to build a company. There is a difference. Sometimes the decision that hurts this month's profit is the decision that gives the business the ability to grow next year. ### Your First Year Is Also an Education There are things I understand today that I simply couldn't have fully understood before owning the business. I understand our numbers differently. I understand hiring differently. I understand what I want in an employee. I understand what we should delegate and what deserves our attention. I understand the difference between something that sounds good in a business plan and something that actually works when you're trying to execute it on a Wednesday morning. We've made plenty of mistakes. And then we got better. That process doesn't end because you bought a franchise. ### This Is Why I Look at Franchise Candidates Differently Now My experience owning franchises is a big part of why I became a franchise consultant. When someone tells me they want to invest in a franchise, I'm not just interested in finding a brand they think sounds exciting. I want to understand what they're actually trying to build. Do they want to operate the business themselves? Do they want to build a team and eventually step back? How much capital do they have available and how much are they comfortable putting at risk? What does success look like three years from now? What happens if the business takes longer to become profitable than they expect? What kind of work are they actually good at? Those questions matter just as much as the brand. Because there isn't one "best franchise." There's a franchise that may or may not fit your skills, finances, goals, market and life. ### Would I Do It Again? Yes. Our first year wasn't perfect. It wasn't enormously profitable. It involved a lot of learning, mistakes and reinvestment. But we built something. Today, my husband and I own **five Pink's Window Services territories across two locations**, and we're continuing to learn what it takes to turn those territories into strong businesses. And interestingly, going through that process made me more interested in franchising, not less. I love the process of evaluating businesses. I love looking at different models and asking how they actually make money. And I love helping someone figure out whether franchise ownership makes sense for them before they invest their savings, time and energy into the wrong opportunity. So if you're researching franchises, don't just ask: **"How much revenue can this business make?"** Ask: **"What will it actually take to build it?"** That's a much better place to start. [![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/72/3172ca89-bf47-4395-b064-ca6061e22d65/content/images/2026/08/Diana-Miller.jpeg)](https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/form/uPKzooxFHrYWA6DBMtYb?ref=bizbuildermagazine.com) I don't just talk about franchising. I live it. And that gives me a unique perspective from which to help you evaluate franchise opportunities that align well with your goals and expectations. Introduce yourself if you'd like to hear more about my story. [Learn more ](https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/form/uPKzooxFHrYWA6DBMtYb?ref=bizbuildermagazine.com) --- --- ## Sign up for Business Builder Magazine A magazine, published by Quantum Franchise Group, for new and aspiring business owners in the United States. Subscribe Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.